Bercilak
Bercilak (Pron. bur-sə-lak) is a veteran Toa of Plantlife and a member of the Toa Vayu. His numerous accomplishments are slowly coming to light and many have begun to praise the Toa as one of Aqua Magna's greatest heroes. History Early Life The earliest mentions of Burslac are from a Chronicler who lived in Southern Island Chains around 98,000 years ago. Prior to his Naming Day, the Bo-Matoran Burslac was a Harakeke farmer in his home village of Bo-Koro. Burslac would be renamed Bercilak several hundred years later when he played an integral role in protecting the village from a particularly devastating tropical storm. Desolation Ten years following the storm, a weary Toa of Air arrived on the shores of the island and asked for a place to stay through the night. He introduced himself as Lesovikk. Despite having heard the stories surrounding the Toa, the island's Turaga turned a blind eye to his past and directed him to the outskirts of the village where the farmers' huts were, away from prying Matoran eyes. It was Bercilak who eventually gave the disgraced Toa a place to stay, simply because he did not recognize the leader of the Toa Cordak. Soon after inviting him inside, the Bo-Matoran inquired of the Toa's wounds. Lesovikk recounted a great battle with a Rock Lion that lasted three days. According to him, the Rahi was injured and he was trying to slay it out of mercy. Even starved and stark raving mad from its injuries, the Lion bested Lesovikk. Rumours have it that Bercilak simply laughed upon hearing the story and proceeded to quote an old folk tale commonly known in the area. According to the somewhat shoddy village annals, Bercilak said, "You should have covered the Lion with honey, so that Electric Bugs may sting the Rahi! Any Matoran fresh from the Forge could have told you that! When you cannot overcome your trials, work alongside someone." The legend culminates with the mysterious disappearance of Lesovikk the very next morning. He left no trace but a Toa Stone beside the sleeping Bo-Matoran. Dragonslayer Bercilak spent a few years on his home island acting as its sole protector until he was recruited by travelling band of young Toa who seeked to consolidate a team from the Southern Islands. Their lofty goal was not only to protect the Island Chains, but the entirety of the known world. Though clearly a difficult task, it was made much easier as the Matoran Universe was still in its infancy and there were no power struggles. Their wandering took them to Metru Nui. At that time, the city was still the hub for both communications and society, but was still developing and happened to have a dragon problem. Though the Kanohi Dragon lived and co-existed peacefully with the Ta-Matoran for a time, the rapid urbanization of Metru Nui encroached the giant Rahi's habitat and it attacked as retaliation. It was simply pure chance that Bercilak's team were at the right place, at the right time. The threat of the entire Metru being razed to the ground was more than enough to galvanize the nine-strong group of Toa to fight. Bercilak did his best, but was sidelined for much of the great battle. His inexperience and nature of his element meant he was not very effective against a fire-breathing behemoth. In fact, he was even detrimental to his team. The Kanohi Dragon, at one point, set his sights on Bercilak and engulfed the Plantlife Toa in a torrent of flame. His teammate, a Toa of Water, had to dive in front to save him and sustained heavy burns as a result. In the end, the Dragon was beaten back and sealed behind an icy wall. Bercilak couldn't help but feel he was a liability during the fight due to his naivety, despite reassurances from the Water Toa that she was unharmed. This event was a turning point and changed the way Bercilak viewed being a Toa and he began to take his duties much more seriously. The League of Six Kingdoms By the height of the League, Bercilak's first team had gone their separate ways. Bercilak, having no goal in sight returned to his home island and put his expanded horizons to good use by sharing stories and technological marvels of the world to the villagers. Bercilak's island was a mere speck of land, yet even such an insignficant landmass did not escape Ehlek's army. The Toa of Plantlife defeated several squads of the Barraki's soldiers, thereby guarenteeing his village's independance. A message from one his old teammates eventually reached Bercilak pronouncing that the League had dissolved. It also included a summons, prompting Bercilak to travel north to the site of the Toa Fortress. He would help with the construction of the Fortress and was stationed there for a time. As there was no Chronicler near the Fortress, there are no record of when Bercilak left and what he did following his depature. It was known, however, that Bercilak continued to keep communications open between his home island and Metru Nui, and is assumed to have made regular visits to both. During this time, there were vague mentions of a wandering Toa helping to keep order around the northern islands. This is assumed to be the Toa of Plantlife in question. The Makoki Stone By now, the intentions of the Brotherhood had soured into almost outright plotting against Mata Nui. Their smoke and mirrors could not fool everyone; A group of Toa banded together just south of Metru Nui and detailed the entire history of the Brotherhood from their own point of view. The Makuta had undoubtedly altered their own records to hide their tracks. Being the last Toa who oversaw the construction of the Toa Fortress alive, Bercilak was among this group. He, too, had noticed suspicious movement of certain Makuta, namely Vamprah, Chirox, and Antroz. The information was sealed within the Makoki Stone and placed inside the Toa Fortress. Bercilak did not take part in the transport of the Stone and elected to continue patrolling Metru Nui as there was no official Toa Team at the time. He made his home in Le-Metru. While on Metru Nui, Bercilak later heard news of the Fortress' fall at the hands of the Dark Hunters, much to his dismay. The Mangai Bercilak was residing in Metru Nui when the Kanohi Dragon resurfaced once more and Dume declared a state of emergency. Bercilak knew that he would impede the team that Turaga Dume summoned and decided to not help. Though it seemed cowardly, Bercilak had simply learned from his mistakes. However, one Toa Mangai, a Toa of Plantlife, stumbled into his home. He was badly burnt and desperately asked the old Toa to help his team defeat the Dragon. Bercilak was stunned and demanded how he knew of him. He had kept his presence low throughout the time he had been on Metru Nui; very few knew of him, save for Dume and the Vahki. The Toa Mangai told him that fleeing a Onu-Matoran told him to look in Le-Metru for a powerful Toa. The old Toa was surprised to hear such rumours and berated the Toa Mangai for abandoning his team all because of some silly urban legend. The young Toa went on to tell Bercilak that the Kanohi Dragon was now on a rampage in Ta-Matru, having clawed its way through a good portion of the Archives. His team was making a final stand near the Great Furnace, but could not hold out much longer. Bercilak was beseeched once again to assist in the fight. Seeing a reflection of his younger, naïve self in the plantlife Toa, Bercilak adamantly refused but taught him how to summon certain fireproof plants to shield himself and his teammates, something Bercilak regretfully wished he knew prior to his own fight with the dragon. The Kanohi Dragon was eventually subdued after three more weeks of conflict and taken to Xia. Most of the Toa team remained in Metru Nui despite given the option to leave. Only two Toa of Ice did so. In the following days, the Ta-Matoran began to rebuild and the leader of the reamining Toa Mangai, Lhikan, paid Bercilak a visit. The Toa of Fire thanked him, but inquired as to why he didn't help fight the dragon. He simply shrugged and said one fight with that Rahi was more than enough. Lhikan also mentioned that the icy prison created by Bercilak's first team showed signs of Skakdi eyebeams. The Toa of Fire would later then confess that he was slightly apprehensive of leading his own team, even though he promised himself he'd never run away from anything. According to Lhikan's memoirs, Bercilak let loose a mighty laugh after hearing Lhikan's clichéd conviction and asked where had he learned to think like that. The fire Toa responded somberly by recounting his harrowing escape from the Toa Fortress. Bercilak immediately sympathized with Lhikan and revealed he was one of the builders of the fortress. The two parted ways after sharing more stories and advice, specifially Bercilak teaching Lhikan as much as he could within the space of an hour. With Toa now permanently stationed in the City of Legends, Bercilak set sail due south for Zakaz, determined to find out how the Dragon could have possibly escaped, after his teammates had given their all to defend the city. The Toa-Dark Hunter War Having eventually traced the trail left by the Skakdi responsible for freeing the Kanohi Dragon, Bercilak discovered it was the Dark Hunters behind the plot. During the time between the dragon's attack and the war, Bercilak caught wind of another Skakdi under the employ of the Shadowed One, Thok. He was assigned to kidnap Dume. Bercilak sabotaged the Skakdi's vessel and notified Turaga Dume of this dire developement and to prepare for the worst. Several centuries later, the Shadowed One gave up all pretenses of espionage and declared war with Metru Nui. With the Toa badly outnumbered, Lhikan sent Naho, a Toa of Water, to find reinforcements. Bercilak was one of the very first Toa contacted, as he was personally named by Lhikan. Without a moment's delay, the Toa of Plantlife travelled all the way from the outskirts of Odina to Le-Metru in just under a day and attmepted to fight his way to the Archives, where Rahi could easily be set loose on the Matoran. To reach the Great Archives, he had to pass through the lightstone mines. On his way north, Bercilak heard a commontion and discovered two Dark Hunters cornering a large group of Onu-Matoran miners. The Toa of Plantlife drove them away and rescued the Matoran. After the War Bercilak went on to liberate both the upper levels of the Archives and Onu-Metru's main chutes to the Coliseum. In total, he fought his way through nearly a hundred Dark Hunters from the southern shores of Le-Metru to the western side of the Coliseum, possibly the highest count out of all the Toa combatants. He returned to Onu-Metru to visit the Matoran he had freed to question the strange behaviour of the Dark Hunter that called himself "Subterranean". From their eyewitness accounts, he discovered that one of the foremen by the name of Jotun was embroiled in this unsavoury business. After asking whether Jotun was happy staying here after the mess he made, Bercilak offered him a Toa Stone to start anew and to make up for his mistakes. Though the Matoran initially hesitated and turned down the offer, within hours, Jotun found his way back to Bercilak and was transformed. The plantlife Toa decided to train Jotun near Xia, where there was sufficient action seeing as Xia was well-known for all sorts of under-the-table doings. It was not long, however, before the Toa of Plantlife received a telepathic summons from the Brotherhood of Makuta, requiring him to abandon his current line of duty and serve as a Toa Hagah. His student was, of course, greatly opposed to this. Like many, he had heard of the shadowy rumours surrounding the Makuta. Despite this, Bercilak feigned ignorance, told Jotun not to worry, and gave him his aged lance and shield for safekeeping. This was to keep the burgeoning Toa of Earth as far away from the Brotherhood as possible. In addition, ever since the creation of the Makoki Stone, Bercilak had noticed the Makuta becoming more and more brazen. This would be an excellent oppurtunity to infiltrate their ranks. Chirox Bercilak soon discovered he was to serve Makuta Chirox, much to his disgust. He was given silver ceremonial armor to demark his status as a Toa Hagah, as well as a botanic spear and a rhotuka shield. Upon arriving at Chirox's base, he discovered he was summoned as a Hagah to replace a fallen member of the Makuta's gaurd. His new teammates had no idea what had happened to their lost brother, and Chirox would not say a word. In fact, he rarely spoke to his seven Toa Hagah, electing to shut himself inside his laboratory for days on end. The island of Visorak was rather barren save for spots of low plains. There was no sign of life except for the spider-like Rahi the island was named after. This caused quite a conundrum for Chirox's Toa for they had nothing to do as Bercilak soon found out. To Bercilak's further horror, he found out their primary duty was supplying elemental energies to fuel Chirox's experiments. As such, the entire team was constantly weakened due to a prolonged drain of the elemental powers. He soon began to suspect the lost Toa was taken by Chirox and tried to convince the other Toa Hagah, though they already knew this to be the truth. They frantically denied his logic, perhaps to avoid the same fate. About 1,700 years later, Toa Norik of Teridax's team initiated an open rebellion to steal back the Kanohi Avohkii. Most of the other Toa Hagah teams also simultaneously rose up in an attempt to stop the Brotherhood though all attempts ended in failure. Bercilak's situation was different. Chirox had recently departed from the island, presumably to help quell the rebellions, and had dismissed his guard seeing as they were in such a pitiful state and would be worthless to him in battle. The group of Toa managed to sufficiently recover their power for the first time in centuries and though they could not fight Chirox were he to return, they broke into his laboratory. A grisly sight greeted them: armour and limbs were strewn all over the floor. On an operating bench, there were what appeared to be the mutilated remains of either a Toa or a Matoran. Their organic parts had been completely rearranged and immersed in jars of various Viruses. Some had already been grafted onto various Rahi cadavers. Chirox returned as Bercilak and the other Toa were still in the laboratory. Still reeling from utter shock, the Toa were caught completely off-guard when Chirox attacked. One of their number, a Toa of Stone, died immediately from the Brotherhood scientist's shadow beam while the rest managed to scatter. Two others would fall to the Visorak Chirox had summoned on his way there and would eventually be mutated into Hordika. Their fate remains unknown though they most likely perished soon after. The remaining four desperately escaped the compound, though Chirox was already gaining on them and Visorak were closing in from all sides. One more would meet their death at the hands of the Makuta before the Toa of Plantlife reached the island's shore. A Toa of Fire who was the team leader, Bercilak, and Moroxi, a Toa of Psionics, were the three remaining survivors. Without a moment's hesitation, the Fire Toa charged forwards to his death to buy just enough time for Bercilak and Moroxi to escape. Bercilak managed to create a raft out of hardened vines, but Moroxi was torn from his grasp by a Visorak. His final glimpse of the Toa of Psionics was of Chirox pressing a Kraata against her mask. Siege of Metru Nui In the thousand or so years between his escape from Visorak and the Destiny War, Bercilak travelled back to his home island, only to find it deserted, with the village completely wiped from existance. It was not razed, it was simply gone. The Toa of Plantlife assumed his people had simply moved as the alternative was too hard to bear. The first thing he did after realizing the island was uninhabited was to strip his Hagah armor off to create a makeshift tomb for his fallen teammates. To this day, he grieves for them and shudders to think of what had become of Moroxi. The Toa of Plantlife decided he would keep himself hidden since his name was simply too well-known within the Brotherhood for him to move freely. Unbeknownest to him, the only ones aware of his location were the Order of Mata Nui, who had kept their eyes on him ever since the creation of the Makoki Stone. He would remain on the island until the Siege of Mata Nui and did not emerge from hiding once, not even during the Cataclysm. As tension countinued to mount throughout the universe, Bercilak had, more than once, considered joining in the inevitable battle against the Makuta. In fact, two of the Toa Nuva, Tahu and Kopaka, stumbled upon Bercilak while trying to quell the volcano on his island. Though they did not tell him of the Order itself, they told the old Toa what little they knew. They then swore, at Bercilak's vehement request, to forget he even existed. Violence exploded throughout the Universe a month later as the Order emerged from hiding, not surprising Bercilak. In his investigations prior to his time as a Hagah, he had come across many well-covered trails of evidence that seemingly went nowhere. The Order would eventually send Krakua to the plantlife Toa to recruit him to their cause. He then travelled to Metrui Nui along with Krakua to assist the defence against the Brotherhood's siege. His immense elemental powers and tactical mind, honed by his years of meditation on the small island, proved greatly instrumental to the war effort. Bercilak was best known for repelling much of the Rahkshi in Ta-Metru by fighting alongside the Bohrok summoned by Krakua. The Toa of Sonics would later would joke that he regretted not recruiting six Bercilaks so they wouldn't have needed to wait for the Toa Nuva to arrive. Teridax’s Reign When Makuta Teridax took initial control over the Great Spirit Robot, many of Metru Nui’s defenders scattered, either escaping through the lower levels of the Archives or heading beneath the Coliseum. Bercilak stuck to what he was used to and acquired a boat from Ga-Metru to set sail once more. It was not long before he noticed the collapse of the Great Barrier above him. Unlike Tahu who was somewhat aware of the fact that they were in a giant robot, Bercilak was none the wiser but quickly realized what the situation had become when enough of the barrier broke down to reveal the clear blue skies of Bara Magna. Wasting no time, Bercilak summoned forth a great tree and began to climb outside of the Matoran Universe. Unfortunately, it was at this point when the redirected Aqua Magna smashed into Teridax. The impact catapulted Bercilak out of the Great Robot. He would stop his fall by causing the forest below him to cushion his fall, but still passed out from the sheer impact. Spherus Magna Bercilak crash-landed in what would become the Vayu Peninsula. He spent his short time alone there simply living off the land, much like he did during his thousand years of meditation. When Jotun and Rusalka arrived months later as part of the Navigation, the weathered Toa greeted his former student, though more roughly that he would have liked. The three Toa began plans for building the settlement of Adytum. Abilities and Equipment *'Complete Plantlife Mastery: '''Bercilak has a perfect control over the Elemental Power of Plantlife, allowing him to control and absorb vegetative material and other similar organic substances as well as manipulate them in a myriad of ways. It is worth noting that Plantlife is the only elemental energy in which a user is not innately able to create objects with, as creation of true life itself falls under the scope of the Ignika and the Great Beings. Rather, large plant protrusions are often created by manipulating existing plants or dormant seeds in the ground. As with all Elemental Powers, his only real limitation is if he runs out of Plantlife Elemental Energy and therefore must wait for it to recharge. Bercilak's incredible aptitude for his element comes with millennia of experience that stems from both battle and meditation. *'Protosteel Accouterments: Toa Bercilak's original Toa Tools were a long lance and a shield. After meeting up with Jotun on Spherus Magna, he reclaimed these. The lance was fairly unremarkable, but the shield was of an interesting design, unique to jousting. It was meant to be held at an upward slant, so blows would be deflected away. Though jousting equipment in undoubtedly cumbersome, in the hands of a deadly warrior, the combination of a long weapon and near-impentrable shield make for a deadly combination. *'Botanic Spear and Rhotuka Shield: '''These were his ceremonial weapons during his stint as a Toa Hagah. He was forced to take these up as they were the traditional weapons of the Hagah, much to his displeasure. Fortunately, there were similar to his original armaments. The botanic spear was able to channel his elemental power of Plantlife effectively, while the shield shot Sapping Rhotuka that removed speed and coordination from a target by removing the ability of gross motor movement. *'Kanohi Aipari: The Kanohi Aipari is the Mask of Density. It allows the user to change their own density as well as any item they are directly in contact with. The larger the object the user is trying to alter, the more effort it takes. In addition, the power needed increases exponentially which leads to what is essentially a firm ceiling as to what this mask is able to accomplish. The Aipari does not, however, have the ability to reduce the user's density to as low a degree that the Mask of Intangibility is able to. The Noble Aipari can only alter the user's own body. It is worth noting that much of Bercilak's successes while fighting are due to his complete mastery over the Aipari. The Toa of Plantlife is able to increase his own or his Toa Tool's density, and therefore weight and force, for just milliseconds to maximize the strength of his blows while not needing to exert any extra effort. On the other hand, he can briefly increase his own density so that an enemy's blow will glance off of him. The Aiparik is forged from a Growth, a Shrink, and a Teleport Kanoka. It is worth noting that Bercilak chose to keep his old Kanohi during his time as a Toa Hagah, simply because he had become so accustomed to the Mask of Density. Personality A being as ancient as Bercilak has, of course, has had a dramatic change in personality, albeit a gradual one. As a Matoran farmer on the peaceful, though somewhat isolated, Island Chains, he enjoyed an idyllic lifestyle. There are few records of this period in his life, but he was most likely content with his lot in life. Following his transformation into a Toa his former teammates have described him as an open-minded and approachable person, as well as someone who valued teamwork and unity. His most notable trait during this team were a strong sense of duty to serve and protect the Matoran. He was known to act kindly towards them, perhaps even indulging in their requests too often. Following the defeat of the Kanohi Dragon, Bercilak's first true challenge, his demeanor took a more serious and somber turn, though he was still very much willing to assist his fellow Toa and work for the betterment of Mata Nui and the people. Though the Ice Toa that was injured in the fight insisted his injury was not his fault, Bercilak still felt guilty for letting his team down at a crucial moment. This would prove to be a recurring moment in Bercilak's life and the accumulated losses would cause him to slowly close himself off the rest of the world. If it were up to him, Bercilak would love to be a teacher. He took great joy in the lessons he gave to two of the Toa Mangai, and took to heart the time he spent with Jotun. However, his summons by the Makuta cut his time with his chosen student short. The eventual loss of his Hagah teammates finally drove Bercilak into isolation, especially as he was the only survivor. He blamed himself a great deal for his team leader's sacrifice and for Moroxi's horrific mutation. Now, the Toa of Plantlife regards the world with a somewhat jaded attitude, not exactly world-weary, but with a "been there, done that" approach. He is a Toa of great strength andintellect, but his somewhat prickly exterior drives away Matoran and fellow Toa alike. Though he forced Jotun to be the team leader as he knew he was no longer fit to lead a team in his state, deep down, he would love nothing more than to pass on his knowledge to the other young Toa on his team. Perhaps time with the rest of the Toa Vayu will help Bercilak find meaning in his long, winding life again. Known Moveset Appearances *A Lazy Summer Storytime Trivia *Special thanks go to ToaGonel. *"Bercilak" is a legendary figure in the King Arthur saga nicknamed the “Green Knight”. *"Castle" was composed by Yoann Laulan. Category:User:ChineseLegolas Category:Toa Category:Plantlife Category:Canto Universe